Many wireless devices are configured to use removable Universal Integrated Circuit Cards (UICCs) that enable the wireless devices to access services provided by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). In particular, each UICC includes at least a microprocessor and a read-only memory (ROM), where the ROM is configured to store an MNO profile that the wireless device can use to register and interact with an MNO to obtain wireless services via a wireless network. Typically, a UICC takes the form of a small removable card, (commonly referred to as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card), which is configured to be inserted into a UICC-receiving bay included in a wireless device. In more recent implementations, UICCs are being embedded directly into system boards of wireless devices. These embedded UICCs (eUICCs) can provide several advantages over traditional, removable UICCs. For example, some eUICCs include a rewritable memory that can facilitate installation, modification, and/or deletion of one or more eSIMs, which can provide for new and/or different services and/or updates for accessing extended features provided by MNOs. An eUICC can store a number of MNO profiles—also referred to herein as eSIMs—and can eliminate the need to include UICC-receiving bays in wireless devices. Moreover, eSIMs on eUICCs can be remotely managed from network servers communicating through mobile device processors to an eUICC of the mobile device.
Methods for managing eSIMs of mobile devices include both MNO-centric approaches, involving network equipment of an MNO, such as a provisioning server, communicating directly with an eUICC of a mobile device through an over-the-air (OTA) secure channel, and device-centric approaches, involving a processor of the mobile device initiating and/or participating in the management of eSIMs on the eUICC of the mobile device.